Summer at Home

The idea of summer break from school means "go away on vacation" for many people. For me, I'm happiest being at home during the most gorgeous part of the Pacific Northwest year and growing a garden.  I've tried gardening and taking summer trips, but inevitably, the garden doesn't really thrive.  There's watering, deadheading, harvesting consistently, and well, just sitting in the lush greenness of June and July that one can't do if they aren't home.

We revamped our garden space about a year ago with some snazzy raised garden beds and a homemade watering system on a timer, and it's been so fun to be inspired to garden and cook from the garden again.  I'll be back with reports on what I'm cooking with it all soon.

This season, I'm growing:

• Rhubarb
• Zucchini
• Persian cucumbers
• Snap peas
• Red beets
• Basil
• Poblano peppers
• Padrón peppers
• Yellow string beans
• Red onions
• A melon of some type (that is stubbornly not performing)
• Eggplant
• Heirloom tomato varieties
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Strawberries (we picked 40 pounds of strawberries and 2 pounds of raspberries before we stopped counting)
• Herbs and flowers
• Dinner plate dahlias